


The Biggest Honor

by creampuffqueen



Series: Future Family Fics [18]
Category: Renegades - Marissa Meyer
Genre: Bike Riding, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Fluff, Kids, Teaching kids, mentions of bad parenting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-28
Updated: 2020-03-28
Packaged: 2021-02-28 22:54:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23365030
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/creampuffqueen/pseuds/creampuffqueen
Summary: A tumblr request, filled
Relationships: Nova Artino | Nightmare/Adrian Everhart | Sketch
Series: Future Family Fics [18]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1538509
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	The Biggest Honor

**Author's Note:**

> An anon on tumblr asked if I could do one where Estrella calls Adrian and Nova mom and dad for the first time.

“Ok, sweetheart. Look straight ahead and pedal.” Adrian Everhart stood next to to a young girl, holding her bike upright. 

“I’m going to fall.” Estrella whimpered, clinging to the handlebars so hard her knuckles were turning white. 

“You won’t.” Nova said, on the girl’s other side. “And if you do, we’ll be right here to pick you back up.”

“Promise?”

“On my heart.” Nova promised. “We won’t let you get hurt.”

Estrella took a deep breath, and then her foster parents let go of the bike. She wobbled for a moment, but then got herself steady and pedaled all the way down the driveway.

“Turn onto the sidewalk, sweetheart.” Nova called. She shot Adrian a triumphant grin, and walked after the girl.

“Perfect!” Adrian praised. “Go to the end of the sidewalk and stop.” Estrella nodded, pedaling slow and steady down the concrete. The other two people followed a few feet behind, so as not to interfere.

As the end of the sidewalk drew near, and the street got closer and closer, Adrian could see Estrella beginning to tense up. A few feet away from the stop sign, she let out a soft yelp.

“How do you stop again?!” 

“Pedal backwards.” Nova said calmly, walking behind her still. Adrian moved up a little, ready to catch her should the bike tip.

But Estrella took a deep breath and pedaled backwards, and like magic, the bike stopped. She put her feet down on the concrete and leaned on the handlebars.

“Good job, sweetheart.” Adrian praised. “That was perfect. Take a breath, and then let’s go back to the driveway.”

Estrella’s dark eyes peered up into his own, then she just as quickly looked away. She twisted a strand of hair around her finger, then sighed and gripped the bars again.

After a few moments, she managed to turn the bike around. Nova grinned at her, and Estrella smiled back. She pedaled off again, a bit faster as her confidence grew.

Back and forth they went, down the street and up again. They never ventured too far from the house, wanting to stay close by in case another child needed them. But Adrian trusted that Evangeline and Nebula had things under control, and he thought it was important that Estrella had both of them with her to learn bike riding.

“Can I go on the street?” She asked softly. Nova smiled, blue eyes sparkling, even on the cloudy day it was. 

“Of course. Make sure to stay on the right.”

Estrella pedaled down the driveway, wincing slightly at the bump as she exited on to the street. But soon enough she was smiling again, riding confidently down to the end of the street.

A car drove by, and they instructed her how to stop and stay on the edge so she wouldn’t be in the way, and then they kept going. The sky was getting darker as more clouds rolled in, and every few minutes Adrian watched as Nova glanced up at the sky.

To the end of the street they went, Estrella managing to turn the bike around without stopping. Adrian cheered for her, and he could practically see her glowing with the praise.

They had made it back to the driveway and were turning around when the first few drops of rain started to fall. Adrian held out his hand to let the water drip from the sky. Thankfully, no thunder.

“One more lap, then we go in.” Nova stated. Estrella nodded, and took off. The rain started to fall harder, but Adrian shrugged it off. They’d be turned around and back in the house in five minutes. 

They made it to the end of the street with no problem, Estrella smiling broadly even as rain soaked through her clothes. Adrian made a quick mental note to dry the bike off so it wouldn’t rust in the garage.

“Look at this! No hands!” At that, Adrian’s worry peaked. His daughter lifted her hands from the bars and pedaled, giggling at her new skill. 

“Good job, sweetheart.” Nova praised. Estrella smiled, and went to put her hands back on the handlebars-

Too late. The bike was tipping.

“Dad!”

Slipping on the rain-slick road, not balanced enough, the bright red bicycle leaned dangerously to the right. Estrella shrieked, arms flailing as she tried to right herself. Not even bothering to think on what she’d just yelled, Adrian started running.

Nova got there first, but not in time to catch the bike. Estrella spilled onto the hard pavement in a tangle of gangly limbs. The bike clattered on top of her, eliciting another cry of pain and fear.

When Adrian reached them, Nova’s eyes were wide and frantic as she pulled the bike off their daughter.

It only took a moment before Adrian scooped Estrella up into his arms, cradling her close. Nova pulled the bike upright, and by then Adrian was already running to the house.

The rain made the going slippery, but he miraculously managed to keep his footing as he sprinted away. Estrella was shaking in his arms, whimpering at each footfall. 

Inside the entryway, Adrian had to push past the swarm of toddlers as he made a beeline for the bedroom. He knew Nova was right behind him, taking the bike back to the garage.

He took Estrella to the bathroom and set her on the counter. She was soaked from the rain, her short golden hair stuck to her cheekbones. She held her right arm close to her body, eyes wide as she watched Adrian.

“Can I see your arm, sweetheart?” Estrella didn’t speak, but she nodded, holding it out to him. Adrian felt along it, praising the stars when he felt nothing but forming bruises and scrapes. 

“Nothing broken. Anywhere else hurt?” She pointed to her legs, and Adrian didn’t really have to think why. They were bloody, skin scraped away from where she’d landed on the pavement. 

He wrapped a bath towel around her, then went to find the antiseptic he knew was in one of the cabinets. They had eleven kids, they always needed antiseptic.

When he was cleaning the blood, Nova let herself into the bathroom quietly. She went and held Estrella’s hand, and Adrian could see the tiny beginnings of a smile when she rested her head on Nova’s shoulder.

“There. Let me do your arm now, sweetheart.” He patched a large band-aid on each knee, then started on the scrape along her arm.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.” Estrella spoke up, quietly. “It was stupid.”

“It wasn’t.” Nova said strongly. “Everyone hurts themselves. I’m covered in scars from little accidents.”

Adrian knew that most of the scars weren’t exactly from ‘accidents’, but he didn’t intervene. The fact that the first thing Estrella said was self-deprecating was making him want to cry.

As he finished cleaning the scrape on her arm, Adrian searched desperately for a way to change the conversation. His mind drifted back to what she’d said, right before she fell.

Estrella had called him Dad.

“I don’t want to push you.” He started. Estrella glanced at him, the fluffy towel still draped over her shoulders.

“But… you said something out there. You… called me something.”

Adrian wasn’t sure if he was doing this right. He’d been about eight when he finally started calling his own fathers Dad and Pops. He hardly remembered what they’d said, just remembered that one day they were Uncle Hugh and Uncle Simon and the next they were Dad and Pops.

“I-” Estrella took a deep breath. “I… didn’t really mean to. If you don’t want me to, I can stop-”

“No.” Adrian breathed. “No, sweetheart.” He pulled her into a hug, relishing the feeling when she started hugging him back.

“If you want to call me Dad, that will be the biggest honor in my life.”

“Really?” 

“Absolutely.” He let her go, but she still held him, her wet hair slick against his shirt. Nova was smiling widely from behind them.

“I want to have good memories.” Estrella started softly. “My dad was the most amazing person I knew. And… you remind me of him, sometimes.”

Adrian was crying. He knew he was, could feel the hot tears trickling down his face. 

“And…” Estrella turned to Nova. “I want to have good memories of the name Mom, too. I want to think of you when I say Mom. Not the woman who raised me. She was never Mom to me. Not like you are.”

Nova’s hands went to her mouth. Just for a moment, and then she surged off the counter to embrace them both. They were all crying.

“I promise,” Nova whispered, pressing kisses to Estrella’s cheek, “That I will do everything in my power to be the best mom ever to you.”

“So… can I call you two Mom and Dad?” Estrella’s own eyes were filled with tears, and she was smiling broader than Adrian had ever seen her.

“You most definitely can.”

**Author's Note:**

> If anyone was wondering why her name is the Spanish word for star but she's described as having 'golden' hair, let me explain. Estrella's dad (the good parent) was Hispanic, but she ended up looking more like her mom (the bad parent)
> 
> Check out my tumblr @creampuffqueen!


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